The influence of Spanish Mission and Revival Architecture in California is profound.
If you read James M. Cain's classic "Double Indemnity" or saw the film, you may recall the manuscript's quirky introductory passage: "It was just a Spanish house, like all the rest of them in California, with white walls, red tile roof and a patio out to one side . . .." Cain refers, of course, to California's distinctive Mission/Spanish Revival style of architecture, vintage buildings that are so unique that the U.S. National Register of Historic Places protects many from demolition. Does this Spark an idea?
Origins of Red-Tile Style Architecture
When settlers came from Spain to the New World, they brought with them building and design methods replicated in the red-tile Spanish architectural style that still dominates southern California exterior home design today. A conglomeration of Byzantine, Renaissance and Moorish influences, typical Old World Spanish buildings feature whitewashed stucco facades, red or terra cotta roof tiles, mosaic embellishments and expansive porticos, breezeways and arches.
California Adopts Spanish Architectural Styling
With roots in Spain and other Hispanic cultures, original red-tile Spanish structures built at the turn of the 20th century were unique and exclusive, but migration and the approach of World War I caused a housing shortage in southern California. Contractors, taking an aesthetic lead from vintage Mission and Spanish buildings, mimicked original designs using lower-quality materials. This sparked outrage in both the architectural and historical communities, as cookie-cutter bungalows in the red-tile style spread across the landscape.
Why Red-Tile Spanish Houses?
According to a Los Angeles Times article written by freelancer Leon Whiteson, a confluence of events lead to Mission and Spanish Revival styles becoming popular in the 1920s and 1930s: San Diego's 1915 Panama-California International Exposition featured architect Bertram Goodhue's red-tile-topped home, and builders didn't waste time producing affordable Mission and Spanish Revival knockoffs. The availability of raw materials also played a part, as did contemporary magazines and movies extolling the virtues of California's Spanish architectural roots.
Features of Red Tile Style Spanish Architecture
It's easy to identify authentic Mission/Spanish Revival buildings: stucco walls, low-pitched roofs of glazed red tile, rectangular or L-shaped floor plans, arcaded porches, arched window and door openings featuring recessed windows, heavy wood double doors, balconies, asymmetrical facades and, in some cases, wrought-iron grillwork. High-end buildings constructed during California's earliest history may feature lavish Spanish baroque ornamentation known as Churrigueresque.
A Master of Spanish Revival and Mission Style Abodes
While California developers used aspects of the red-tile look in custom-built and tract homes, one developer stood out from the crowd in the late 1920s to early '30s: George Washington Smith. The Montecito home designer lived up to his lofty name, creating treasured south California landmarks. The Steedman House and Prindle House, in Montecito and Pasadena respectively, inspired up-and-coming architects such as Wallace Neff and Gordan Kaufmann.
Red-Tile Terror
In his article "The Red Tile Terror," Garrison Frost articulates the despair felt by Southern California arbiters of taste when Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival-style bungalows began to pop up everywhere. Frost rails against "the lazy creation of ugly, soulless buildings" in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. His lament, shared by critics and architects alike, made no difference. Families wanted homes in the red-tile style that wealthier families owned, and that's exactly what developers gave them.
Tags: Mission Spanish, Spanish Revival, Mission Spanish Revival, red-tile Spanish, red-tile style, Revival style, southern California